for you, your home and the planet

Tag: exteriors

The simplest way of finding out whether you have a problem with damp walls in your house is to take a look at them and see whether you can spot any of the following common symptoms: Peeling wallpaper Black mould White salt stains Blistering emulsion and/or internal plasterwork You might also notice a nasty, damp smell. This could be what makes you notice the problem … Continue reading How to Remedy Damp Walls

We have somehow already arrived at the ninth month of the year; the month that brings Autumn to British shores. September, with its blackberries, grey mornings, and reddening leaves, is full of inspiring imagery and rich colours, all enveloped in a mood that brings us back to nature in time to wrap up for the cold weather to come. The colours and textures we find … Continue reading Decorating for the four Seasons: reflecting the outdoors

As with all kinds of projects, there are plenty of pitfalls to trip you up when building an extension to your home. One of the best ways to avoid the most common mistakes is simply to be aware of them, so we’ve laid them out for you to familiarise yourself with before you get going. Losing a sense of reality When undertaking a project with … Continue reading How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Extending your House

The ‘pointing’ of a wall is what you see between the masonry. It’s the visible part of the mortar joints that hold everything in place. The lime mortar joints on older houses tends to be written off well before their use-by date because the pointing looks and feels a little soft and powdery. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the pointing has failed, as a … Continue reading How to Re-point a Wall

Breathing keeps houses healthy and safe to live in by letting moisture out from the walls. Over time, houses have been decorated inside and out using plastic-based paints. Whilst these paints look fine and work well to start with, the walls beneath begin to suffocate. This is because the paint creates an impermeable covering. In time, the walls begin to deteriorate. A suffocating house tends to be damp, and the … Continue reading Why does your House need to Breathe?

About a third of homes in the UK have ‘solid’ walls, and solid walls are the cause of around 45% of the heat loss from those homes. Insulating a solid wall is a little trickier than fitting insulation into the existing gaps in cavity wall, and comes with a few unique hurdles to overcome. The insulation can either be applied internally or externally, and which … Continue reading Which Solid Wall Insulation?

Earthborn Silicate Primer is a base coat to paint on before using Earthborn Silicate Masonry Paint. It’s a good idea to use it on the surface of any wall that is very absorbent or loose and powdery to make sure the paint sticks and doesn’t either fall off or get drawn into the wall. You can colour the primer using a natural pigment to create … Continue reading Why do I need to use Earthborn Silicate Primer?

When Peter Dow came to us looking for paints to renovate his semi-gothic Victorian cemetery lodge, we knew we were going to help to create something amazing. Following years of neglect, the lodge was in need of a good dose of TLC, and some sympathetic remodelling to bring its 1970s red brick extension into place with the rest of the building. Because Peter understood the … Continue reading We helped Renovate this Listed London Cemetery Lodge

In recent years, there have been a few options made available to homeowners who want to save – or even make – some money whilst lowering their bills and improving the energy efficiency of their homes. The latest of these is the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF), launched on June 1st 2014. Applications are open to everyone, regardless of age or financial situation, and … Continue reading The Green Deal Home Improvement Fund: Cashback for Efficiency Upgrades

We think pictures are worth a thousand words, and pictures combined with words are worth even more! Check out this limewash recipe the next time you’re mixing a batch of limewash to remind yourself of what you’ll need. Want more information? Read our guides to Painting with Limewash and Building with Lime. Continue reading Limewash Recipe Infographic